FashionGGW

The Vivienne Westwood Africa bag collection is made by artisans in Kenya. Over the past five years, Vivienne Westwood’s involvement has supported thousands of micro-producers from marginalised communities in these regions, developing their artisan skills and improving their financial prospects. This has promoted the growth of sustainable business instead of aid dependency.

The Ethical Fashion Initiative programme are very proud that over the past 10 seasons, the Africa bags have been featured on the Vivienne Westwood runway, advertising campaigns and have been retailed in stores worldwide. Since 2010, the collections have evolved, introducing new styles and in turn skill development of the artisans. The Africa bags resonate with Vivienne Westwood’s activist stance within the fashion industry, while the design and materials used raise questions on critical issues such as climate change and waste.

Fun facts:

More than 950 children were enabled to go to school as a result of Vivienne Westwood orders.

So far 1558 artisans have worked on these orders, from 21 different communities. 76% of which are women.